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I haven't paid much attention to Apple's newest price-gouging tactics. But it's after Midnight here on the West Coast and preorders are now underway for iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. So I decided to take a progress peak. A year ago, I rushed to get the 6. This upgrade cycle, my interest is zero.

I am not mooning over 3D Touch, although I would gladly moon Apple for such nonsense. Synchronization was the connected device age's first killer app. Touch was second. But the finger is an anachronism compared to voice. Touchless is the next big thing. While Apple brew hoos about smarter Siri, touch gets greater emphasis for this release cycle. I can't blame Apple in a way. Siri still sucks.

For a company with its own mobile operating system to worry about (yes, there is a new build of Windows 10 Mobile on the way soon) Microsoft shows an awful lot of interest in the competition. After making an appearance at Apple's iPad Pro and iPhone 6s launch event, Microsoft has made an Android-related acquisition.

The newly-purchased Echo Notification Lockscreen is the second Android lockscreen app that the company now has to its name; Echo Notification Lockscreen joins Microsoft Next. The company says it is about taking "productivity to the next level" and improving users' experience.

Once again, Microsoft has managed to rile people with Windows 10. People have discovered that the Windows 10 installation files are being downloaded to their computers without their permission. If this has happened to you already, we've already shown you how to remove Windows 10, claiming back space and regaining control.

But if you have been lucky enough to avoid the unwanted arrival of Windows 10 installation files so far, you'll be more interested in prevention than a cure. Here's what you need to do to make sure Microsoft doesn’t force feed you Windows 10.

30 years ago today, iconic Italian plumber Mario made his first appearance in the legendary Super Mario Bros.

Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario remains Nintendo’s most enduring -- and recognizable -- creation, and while the hardware his games appear on might have changed considerably over the past three decades, Mario himself is still the same lovable character he’s always been.

Sony seems hell bent on confusing its customers by giving very conflicting advice about its Xperia smartphones. If you're familiar with the range, you'll no doubt be aware of the advertising material that appears to show users taking photos in the rain and even (seemingly) underwater at the pool.

Take a look at the picture above and you'd probably assume that a) it depicts someone shooting a video or taking a photo in a swimming pool, and b) you can do the same with your phone. But you'd be wrong (at least on b) because Sony has changed its mind about what waterproof means. Or it doesn't know. It really depends on where you look on the Sony website.

The traditional 9-5 working day of driving to an office, sitting in a cubicle for hours and then forgetting all about work at the end of the day is all but extinct.

Thanks to telecommuting and the rise of millennials on the workplace, employees are now able to work from pretty much anywhere at any time of day, with little or no disruption or sacrifice in productivity.

Almost a year and half ago I said goodbye to my long-time satellite provider. It was nothing personal, I always had good service, but I simply decided I was paying too much for the amount of TV I watch -- or don't watch, which is more the case.

Since then I've got by just fine with a compilation of Sling TV (with the sports pack), Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime. That hasn't stopped DirecTV from trying to win me back, though I'd steadily ignored the offers. But one was different.

Microsoft has reportedly been downloading Windows 10 installation files on to computers running Windows 7 and 8.x, regardless of whether the users plan to upgrade to the new OS or not.

If you’re thinking of making the switch, and have requested an upgrade, that is fair enough. But if you’re more than happy to stick with your older OS for now, you might not be too happy about Microsoft cluttering up your hard drive with junk install files you don’t want. Fortunately, removing these files is easy enough.

There is a big place in my heart for gaming PCs. Unfortunately, there isn't a big place in my home for one. As more and more people share homes with their extended family (damn, economy!) space can be an issue. Zotac recently announced a small gaming PC, showing that it is possible to have a small footprint, which is very cool.

Today, ASUS announces the ROG G20CB -- a refresh of the existing G20. While not diminutive, it is certainly svelte compared to conventional towers. The specs look incredible, as it features an Intel Skylake Core i7 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB. Other configurations are available too, of course, and AMD fans can opt for a Radeon R9 380.

A health insurer in upstate New York was hacked, and more than 10 million of its members might have had their data stolen, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The Rochester-based insurer Excellus BlueCross BlueShield said it and its affiliates had been the target of a sophisticated cyberattack. It is offering free identity theft protection services to the affected.

If you haven’t already upgraded to Windows 10, Microsoft has another incentive for you to make the switch. The tech giant is offering upgraders the chance to win a trip for two to New York, with flights and hotel accommodation included.

The competition is to celebrate the grand opening of Microsoft’s flagship store and the winner will have front of line access to the store, and also VIP concert tickets with a meet and greet with the (as yet unnamed) band at the grand opening concert. They’ll also receive Microsoft hardware including Surface Pro 3, Xbox One and Microsoft Band.

Bitdefender Labs has unveiled its 2016 consumer line, including Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2016, Bitdefender Internet Security 2016 and Bitdefender Total Security 2016.

New ransomware protection prevents untrusted applications from tampering with your personal documents, while enhanced behavioral monitoring looks for any ransomware-like activities.

The cloud has become a truly winning innovation for companies of all sizes, causing a significant upturn within the IT sector and business as a whole. Previously, companies went to great lengths to scale their own in-house IT infrastructure, as it was seen as a great benefit to run the business through technology maintained on-site. Now however, there is a push toward an online service delivery model, leaving organizations wondering which setup is best for them.

In many aspects, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) stand to benefit the most from cloud-based technologies. Dealing with limited budget, it has not always been easy to for small companies to take advantage of information technology -- the purchase, upkeep, and eventual replacement of hardware is extremely expensive, not to mention the salaries paid to the IT professionals that maintain it. Fortune 500 companies can afford this type of capital costs, whereas SMBs could have travel outlaying that much cash.

Apple’s shares went down some two percent following Wednesday's event which saw the unveiling of a couple of new products.

Apple unveiled the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, as well as the new iPad Pro, Apple TV and a couple of new features for the Watch.

The latest ransomware to hit Android users attempts to force victims into coughing up $500 by changing the PIN used to lock the device. Disguising itself as a system patch and then a message from the FBI suggesting that 'forbidden pornographic sites' have been viewed, the Android/Lockerpin.A malware differs from previous examples of ransomware that encrypted data.

The malware is impossible to remove without root access or by performing a factory reset. An interesting feature of the PIN change is that even the attacker is unware of what the new code is -- handing over money really makes no difference. But also worthy of note is the way in which Android/Lockerpin.A manages to gain Device Admin privileges.